Sec. 54-103. Requirements for registration and initial filings by candidates and committees—Recordkeeping—Campaign accounts.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an individual must organize a candidate committee pursuant to subsection (c) of this section upon becoming a candidate under this chapter. A candidate may not organize, maintain, or control more than one candidate committee at any time.
(b) A standalone candidate must, within five business days of becoming a candidate, submit an affidavit to the city clerk certifying that the candidate has reviewed and is familiar with the requirements of this chapter. If a standalone candidate subsequently accepts a contribution at any point in the election cycle, the candidate must organize a candidate committee within five business days pursuant to this section.
(c) A committee must, within five business days of becoming a candidate committee, issue committee, or political committee under this chapter, do all of the following:
(1) Appoint an individual as its treasurer. A candidate may serve as the treasurer of the candidate's own candidate committee if no other individual is appointed treasurer. In the event that the treasurer of a committee is vacated for any reason, the committee must promptly appoint a new treasurer, who must file the affidavit required under subsection (d)(6) of this section with the city clerk within 10 business days of the vacancy by the prior treasurer.
(2) Open or designate a bank account with a financial institution in the state of Colorado to serve as its campaign account, which must include the full name of the committee in the title of the account.
(3) File a registration statement with the city clerk that includes the information required by subsection (d) of this section.
(d) The registration statement filed by a committee with the city clerk must include:
(1) The full name and mailing address of the committee; the street address for the principal place of operations of the committee, if different from the mailing address; telephone number for the principal place of operations of the committee; an email address for the committee that is actively monitored; and the URL of the committee's official website, if any.
(2) The full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the treasurer of the committee.
(3) The full name of any other committee or a nonmunicipal political organization that is organized, financed, maintained, or controlled by the same person or group of persons as the committee filing the registration statement, and in the case of a nonmunicipal political organization registered with the Colorado Secretary of State's campaign finance system, the organization's state-assigned committee ID number.
(4) A description of the purpose of the committee.
a. For a candidate committee, the description must include the full name and public office sought by the candidate on whose behalf the committee is organized.
b. For a political committee, the description must include the full name and public office sought by each candidate the committee is supporting or opposing.
c. For an issue committee, the description must include the official title and number of the ballot issue or ballot question the committee is organized to support or oppose if known, and whether the committee supports or opposes that issue or question.
d. For a separate segregated fund sponsored by a covered entity pursuant to section 54-101(e)(2), the description must include the full name and the address of the principal place of operations of the sponsoring entity.
(5) The full name, mailing address, and telephone number of the financial institution with which the committee has opened or designated its campaign account, and the title of the campaign account.
(6) An affidavit signed by the treasurer of the committee certifying that the treasurer has reviewed and is familiar with the provisions of this chapter, and, in the case of a candidate committee, the registration statement must also include an affidavit from the candidate on whose behalf the committee is organized certifying that the candidate has reviewed and is familiar with the requirements of this chapter.
(e) The city clerk must review all submitted registration statements within five business days and reject any that do not meet all of the requirements of this section. Rejected registrations may be corrected and resubmitted within five business days.
(f) Registration statements must be filed electronically with the city clerk. The city clerk must make all submitted registration statements available to the public online within three business days of determining that the statements meet all requirements of this section.
(g) A public officeholder who is the subject of a recall must organize a recall defense committee in accordance with this section before soliciting or accepting a contribution or making an expenditure to oppose the recall. The public officeholder must file a registration statement for the recall defense committee with the city clerk that includes the information described in subsection (d) of this section, appoint a treasurer of the recall defense committee, and designate a bank account with a financial institution in the state of Colorado to serve as the defense committee's campaign account, which must be separate from any other account of the officeholder or the officeholder's campaign committee.
(h) If any of the information required in subsection (c) or (d) of this section subsequently changes, the committee must file an amendment to its registration statement within five business days. A committee that has registered under this section in connection with a prior municipal election must file an amended registration statement with the city clerk for each subsequent election cycle until the committee submits a termination report.
(i) The treasurer of a committee must preserve copies of all filings and reports required by this article and complete records of all transactions of the committee's campaign account for no less than five years after a termination report for the committee is submitted to the city clerk or until the final disposition of any complaint or consequent litigation involving the committee, whichever is later. The filings, reports, and records of the committee are subject to inspection at any hearing held under this article.
(j) All contributions received by a committee must be deposited in its campaign account within 10 days of their receipt. All expenditures made by a committee must be paid from its campaign account. A committee may not deposit a contribution to or make an expenditure from its campaign account without the express authorization of its treasurer or the treasurer's designee. The campaign account must be segregated from any other funds or bank accounts of the person that organized the committee, and funds in the campaign account may not be commingled with the personal funds of any person.
(k) The treasurer of a committee and the candidate, in the case of a candidate committee, are jointly and severally responsible for all of the following:
(1) Filing all statements and reports required by this article in full and accurate detail.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this article, all other actions of the committee. (Ord. No. 2021-35, § 3, 9-27-2021)